Lock-seal bottle.



J. SHARP.

LOCK SEAL BOTTLE.

APPLIUATION FILED 11:13.19, 191.1.

Patented Dec. 9, 1913.

HIJ 11| ATTORNEY VVITNESSES NTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

J'HN SHARP, OF SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR F ONE-HALF TO CLIFFORD A. GREENLEAF, OF SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA.

LOCK-SEAL BOTTLE.

Application filed February 19, 1913.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN SHARP, a citizen et the United States, residing at San Bernardino, in the county of San Bernardino and State of California, have invented a new and useful Loclefeal Bottle, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in lock seal bottles.

The object of the present invention is t-o iniprove the construction of lock seal bottles and analogous receptacles, and to provide a siinple, inexpensive and etlicient receptacle of this character, adapted to be easily sealed, and capable ot eilectually preventing access t-o its contents without breaking the lock seal and clearly indicating the fact that the saine have been broken, thereby ciiectually preventing any fraudulent refilling of a bottlc and resale ot the saine as an original package.

lVith these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction and novel combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and pointed out in the claiins hereto appended; it being understood that various changes in the torni, proportion, size and ininor details ot' construction, within the scope of the claims, inay be resorted to without departing troni the spirit or sacrificing any ot the advantages ot' the invention.

lin the drawing :-F`igiire l is a vertical sectional view ot the neck of a bottle provided wth a lock seal, constructed in accordance with this invention and showing the saine before the seal is broken. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view on the line 2 2 oit Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the neck of the bottle, the seal. being broken, the locking spring removed and the elastic sleeve partially rotated to cover the opening resulting from the breaking of the seal. Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the upper end of the neck. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of the stopper'. Fig. 7 is a similar view of the sleeve.

Like numerals of reference designate coi'- responding parts in all the figures of the drawing.

In the accompanying drawings in which is illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, l designates the neck of a Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 9, 1913.

senin No. 749,414.

bott-le or analogous receptacle, provided at onesidc at a point below its upper edge with an niteriorly arranged circular socket 2 and having at the opposite side an alined opening 3, extending through the wali of the neck and covered by an eXteriorly arranged fraiigible shell or seal 4, adapted to be broken to expose one end of a coiled spring 5 to pcrniit. the removal of the latter, which retains a stopper' G within the neck l. The coiled spring constitutes a resilient locking device, and it entends through a transverse opening 7 in the stopper and through opposite transversely alined openings S of a sleeve, 9, constructed oi? cork or any other suitable material, which will not aiiect or be aiiected by the contents of the bottle. Any other suitable resilient locking device may, ot course, be employed for securing the stopper and the sleeve within the neck ot the bott-le.

The stopper (i, which is designed to be constructed of glass or siinilar material, is pro vided at its upper' or outer end with a circular head l0, extending over the upper edges of the neck and covering the saine and eiiectually preventing access to the sleeve and the locking device from the upper or outer end of the neck, as clearly illustrated in Figs. l and 2 of the drawing. The head, which aps the bottle, will prevent the locking device from being tampered with troni the interior, so that it will be necessary t-o break the irangible shell or covering et in order to obtain access to the bottle. The sleeve, which surrounds the stopper, -tornis a liquid tight packing to enable the bott-le to be securely corked and sealed, and the stopper and the sleeve are of a length to extend below the recess 2 and the opening 3, so that the contents of t-he bottle are not exposed by the breaking of the iraiigible shell li, which 'torins a cover for the opening 3.

It is necessary to remove the stopper when it `is desired to pour out the contents of the bottle, and in order to prevent any of the contents from passing through the opening 8, the sleeve 9 is partially rotated to carry an iinpertorate portion thereof to the said opening. In order to eiiiectthis result, the sleeve is provided in its upper portion with opposite recesses 11, extending downwardly from the upper edges of the sleeve and receiving projecting lugs 12 of the stopper 6.

' stopper.

The lugs, which are formed integral with the stopper, are located at the lower face of the head l0 and project laterally from opposite sides oit the stopper. The stopper is interlocked with the sleeve by the lugs and the recesses, and it is adapted to be turned to rotate the sleeve, the head l0` forming a continuous grip or handle for turning the After the opening 3 has been covered or closed by an impertorate portion of the sleeve, the stopper is removed and the contents of the bottle may be decanted there- 'rom in the ordinary manner.

llfhile the bottle is not a nonrelillable bottle in the sense that it cannot be refilled, yet the lock seal will afford ample protection against fraudulent relillings, as it is necessary to break the frangible shell or portion covering the opening 3 in order to withdraw the stopper, and it will therefore be impossi ble to refill and restore the bottle to its original condition, as the broken frangible portion will clearly indicate the tact that it has been opened.

The trangible shell or coveringl for the opening 3 may be molded, blown or formed in any other suitable manner, and is, of course, provided on the bottle before the same is ipilled and corked. lt covers the o iening 3 and constitutes an outer wall for the same and forms a recess or socket for engaging with one end of the coiled spring.

In corking the bottle, the sleeve is placed on the stopper with its openings 8 in alinement with the opening 7 oi the stopper. rlhe spring is then placed in the openings l and 8, and in order to enable it to be readily compressed into the neck of the bottle, the latter is provided at the upper edges of its neck with opposite outwardly tapered recesses 13, presenting beveled or inclined faces lil to the ends of the spring. The spring is compressed within the openings 7 and 8 in introducing the stopper and the sleeve into the neck of the bottle, and it is adapted to expand and automatically engage the opposite sockets when brought into alinement with the same, and when the spring is engaged with the said sockets, it securely retains the stopper and the sleevel within the neck of the bottle.

lVhat is claimed is l. A device of the class described includin@` a receptacle having a neck provided with opposite interiorly arranged sockets and having a rangible portion constituting the outer wall of the socket, a stopper provided with an opening, a sleeve arranged on the stopper and having opposite openings registering with the opening of the stopper, and a resilient locking device extending through the openings of the stopper and the sleeve and expansible to engage the interior sockets of the neck and adapted to be removed by breaking the said rangible portion, said stopper and sleeve having coacting portions, whereby the sleeve is adapted to be rotated by the stopper to carry an imper'torate portion of the said sleeve to the frangible portion when the locking device is removed.

2. A device of the class described including a receptacle having a neck provided with interiorly arranged sockets and having a ii'rangible portion constituting the outer wall of one of the sockets, a stopper provided with an opening and having a projecting head and provided beneath the same with a lug, a sleeve surrounding the stopper and having opposite openings to register with that of the stopper and provided in its upper edge with a recess receiving the lug ot' the stopper, whereby the sleeve is adapted to be rotated by the stopper to carry an imperfcrate portion of the former opposite the frangible portion of the neck, and a resilient locking device extending through the openings of the stopper and the sleeve and adapted to engage the recesses of the neck.

3. A device of the class described including a receptacle having a neck provided with an interiorly arranged socket and having a frangible portion constituting the outer wall of the socket, a stopper provided with an opening, a sleeve arranged on the stopper and having an opening registering with the opening of the stopper and with the said socket, a resilient locking device arranged in the opening of the stopper and the sleeve and engaging the said socket and being of a size to permit it to be removed through the socket when the outer wall thereof is broken, said stopper and sleeve being provided with coacting interlocking parts, whereby the sleeve is adapted to be rotated by the stopper to carry an imperforate portion of the sleeve to the said socket to cover the same when the locking device is removed.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto atliXed my signa ture in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN SHARP. lVitnesses E. PERCY BRAID, F. A. LEONARD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

